Proposals
by SevenGee
Summary: "I can't believe you're saying no," Draco whispered. "After everything we've been through." Hermione shook her head. "I'm not saying no – Draco, I'm not!" He looked away from her. "Well, you're certainly not saying yes." DMHG. Oneshot.


Authors Notes: Holla, thanks for tuning it fellow FF readers! This one was a doozy to give a title to, but hopefully it's somewhat self-explanatory now! I hope you enjoy it, and if you're feeling kind enough, review it once you're done, whether it's a flame or not! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters within this story, all are the property of my idol JKR!

Summary: "I can't believe you're saying no," Draco whispered. "After everything we've been through." Hermione shook her head. "I'm not saying no – Draco, I'm not!" He looked away from her. "Well, you're certainly not saying yes." DMHG. Oneshot.

**xxxxxx**

**Proposals**

**xxxxxx**

In Draco Malfoy's old Windsor mansion, under the light of a glowing and silvery moon, his dining room area was entirely lit with candles in a way that would suggest something far more romantic than usual was about to take place. As he opened the door to reveal it to his year-long girlfriend Hermione Granger, she needed only to take one step inside and see the candles arranged in a descending fashion before realizing this herself.

They had just returned from a particularly romantic evening, in which Draco had pulled all the stops in order to show Hermione just how much he loved her, whether it was showering her with the most expensive gifts or taking her along a very magical carriage ride around Hogsmeade. It certainly was his most elaborate date yet, and he was very proud that Hermione hadn't expected a thing until that very moment when he brought her back to his home, and his candle-lit dining room.

She set her purse down on a side table as if in a trance and turned around to face him slowly, except Draco had already begun to showcase the candles, the pictures of the pair of them he had set up across the room, and the rose petals he scattered across the dining room table with champagne in a cold bucket waiting for them. Hermione's mouth was slightly open, her eyes searching her boyfriend in disbelief.

"Oh no, Draco…" she said slowly.

"Look," he said earnestly, pulling her over to the centre of the dining room table where the champagne awaited them. "If you're surprised, it's alright, I wanted you to be."

"I – I am surprised," she said breathlessly, while regarding all of the picture frames with moving Hermiones and Dracos inside of them. He took her hands in his own, and Hermione was forced to stop looking around and face him instead, stunned though she was.

"Because of you," he began, the words tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them, "I've had the most wonderful year of my life; because of you, I've completely changed and entirely for the better – I would be the happiest man alive if you chose to spend the rest of your life with me tonight." Draco knelt down low, pulling a velvet green box out of his cloak pocket and holding it up, so Hermione looked down upon its beauty. When he opened it, the intricate, oval shaped ring twinkled at her, almost beseeching that she say yes.

"Marry me," Draco breathed happily, while looking deeply into Hermione's eyes. "Just say yes."

She smiled and looked down upon her boyfriend, whose eyes were glimmering with happiness at the prospect of spending the rest of his life with her, but somehow she could not ignore the nagging feel of worry at his proposal. Her mouth opened to respond, but her throat suddenly became strained, leaving her mouth to bob wordlessly instead.

Draco's smile faltered. He stood up, the ring still open in its velvet box. "What is it?" he asked nervously.

"It's just… how can you be sure? It's only been–"

"It's been a year, Hermione," he said calmly. "It's been a year, and I could have done this months ago because I've always felt this strongly about you since the moment we started out. Don't… don't you feel the same way?" he asked her worriedly.

"Of course I do!" she said quickly, but walking away from him so that she was on the other end of the dining room table. "But I'm not sure if I'm ready! How do you know _you're_ even ready? We fight more than we do anything else because we're too stubborn—"

"Because that's what we do, Hermione! We fight and then make-up, that's how it always is with the two of us! I mean, just because we argue doesn't mean we shouldn't be together – for Merlin's sake _I love you_. I thought you would say yes – I can't believe you're saying no," he spluttered. "After everything we've been through."

"I'm not saying no – Draco, I'm not!"

He looked away from her. "Well, you're certainly not saying yes," Draco said, with a mix of awe and misery.

Hermione made to answer but again, found that she could not. Draco stared at her, thinking that this was not how he expected she would answer, and certainly not how he thought the night would end. "This isn't what I wanted to hear," he whispered.

"Maybe – maybe we're just not meant to be together," Hermione said quietly.

He looked away from her once more, deciding instead to examine the carpet spread out in between them. Though he felt as if he could have yelled far more, could have said so much more, it was this sudden statement that had ended all shouts between the two of them.

"Not – not meant to be together?" he stuttered.

She covered her mouth, surprised that it had even left her lips. She began to shake her head immediately. "No, no, that's not what I meant! It's just – I mean – Draco – why don't we just wait? I'm caught off-guard!" Hermione said, trying to reason with him. "We don't have to do this, not now, but one day… someday!" She walked around the dining room table and closed the distance between them, taking his face in her hands. "I know what you're thinking, Draco, but I do still love you."

Her hands were only on him for a moment before he pulled himself away from her harshly, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're just afraid," Draco said sharply, "afraid that you might just love me enough to want to be with me forever. We've been together too long for you to end us like this!" he bellowed.

Hermione stared at him, stunned at the loudness in his voice, and Draco began to weave himself around his own furniture so that he was out of her grasp.

"Draco, please don't walk away from me like that," she said, her voice strict but pleading at the same time.

"I've never known you to act so permanently on a temporary feeling. There's only one answer! It's yes or no, Hermione. Which is it?" Silently, he crossed the room once more and took her hand, gently placing the ring in the centre of her palm and closing her fingers around it, begging that she think things through. Hermione's focus shifted to the ring in her hand, the cogs of her mind working against each other as Draco stared deeply into her face, as if the passion in his eyes could influence her decision.

Gradually, and after what felt like an eternity, the hand holding the ring went limp at Hermione's side. Shaking her head and walking away from him, she picked up her purse where she had laid it on the side table, making her answer quite plain.

Draco remained where he stood, pretending not to notice the tears that were prickling at his eyes, or the sad glimmer that were now present in Hermione's as well. He watched her go, his face falling in anguish despite himself.

"I should go," Hermione said with a tone of finality, stopping to face him at the dining room door. "I'm so sorry."

Without another word, she shut the door for him, leaving Draco in an unwelcomed silence, heartbroken at the fact that the love of his life had left him.

He turned around aggressively, scanning the room he had decorated so well for the woman he loved for quite some time. Eventually, he snapped the tiny green, velvet box in his hand shut. It was only hours after she had gone that he realized Hermione had taken the ring with her, along with his hopes and dreams as well.

**xxxxxx**

Six weeks later, neither Draco nor Hermione had puckered up enough courage to fix their badly broken relationship. Draco was never one to let personal issues get in the way of his job, and Hermione being quite the same, refused to take her first ever sick day. As a result, it was exceptionally uncomfortable when the two were in passing at work in the first two weeks that followed.

On the third week, gossip had spread of Draco's impromptu vacation, which Hermione was quite unbothered by. She knew him well enough to expect something like this from him, but she had to admit her worry at the month long absence it eventually caused. She even began to wish she would see him on his way to the Department of Magical Games and she to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement like usual, but her hopes were unfounded, as days continued on with very few words from Draco himself, who was the head of his department. Yes, he would send in an owl every now and then with instructions, but it was not good enough for Hermione, who knew she made a very careless and foolish mistake with him, and not once did she let herself forget it.

As she did every morning, Hermione made her obligatory stop to Harry's office, for his was on the way to her own. When she entered without knocking (which was her custom), Harry quickly sat up from his chair and stuffed his delivery of _The Daily Prophet_ in a desk drawer.

"Good morning," she trilled, business as usual.

Harry straightened up from his seat. "Morning!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes and looked about the room. She set the coffee aside that she had brought for him, which he took as soon as she set it down.

"What's going on?" Hermione said.

"Nothing," Harry said innocently. "You could have knocked, you know," he then added.

"You know I never do. Besides, it's just me… what are you hiding?"

"Nothing," said Harry defensively once more. "Shouldn't you be dealing with some criminal business or other? I can't stay long, I have to meet Ron. We're investigating some questionable characters in our case—"

"Harry," said Hermione in a very thin voice, the kind that usually made Harry feel like a child. "Hand me that _Prophet_ you just hid."

"I wasn't—"

"After years of running around doing risky business with you, Harry, I'd have thought you'd be less messy. May I see it, please?"

Harry sighed and slowly pulled out the drawer, surrendering to the fierceness in her glare. He unfolded the wrinkly newspaper and handed it over to Hermione, whose outstretched hand was waiting for it from across his office desk. She had only time to read the headline and see the front picture before looking away immediately, blinking rather furiously.

"I'm sorry," Harry said cautiously, watching her head shake in disbelief. "Her name is—"

"I know what her name is," Hermione said sharply, handing the newspaper back to him. "Astoria – Astoria Greengrass; he's mentioned her once or twice before. And now they're…"

Harry looked at her from a sideways glance, and slapped the newspaper onto his table to fill the silence. "Engaged," he finished for her.

"And it's on the front page," she said blankly.

"Well, if you think about it, it's only natural their engagement is there, this would be the union of some of the wealthiest wizarding families in Britain..."

"I know," Hermione said in a wounded tone that was simultaneously meant to stop Harry from elaborating.

"Apparently she's the heiress to a large multi-national wizarding corporation that deals with broom inventions – that's how he met her, they say, since he's the Head of the Department of Magical Games. Look, I know it sounds bad—"

"I really don't want to be hearing this right now," Hermione whispered, though Harry continued to talk over her.

"But she isn't one of those scarlet women the press loves to smear, she's quite the opposite. Ron and I met her once at the Broom Exhibition last year—"

"Harry!" she cried. "Have you any tact? For Merlin's sake."

Harry was confused for a moment before seeing the look on her face. "Oh, I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to dig in too deep, I just thought you would want to know about how—"

"How he's moved on without me?"

Harry looked around the room awkwardly. "Hermione, it's been weeks since the two of you have ended things… maybe it's time for you to move on too," he said rather cautiously, afraid that she might find this hurtful and burst into tears.

"Maybe," Hermione echoed. "But I would have appreciated some notice before this – before –"

"Before he moved on? You broke up with him, Hermione, remember?"

"Because he gave me an ultimatum, what in the world was I supposed to say?" she said fiercely.

"You could have said yes," Harry responded, just as strongly.

"Whose side are you on?" Hermione said angrily. "The man's just gotten engaged and this is the comfort you give me?"

"Oh, Hermione, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"I've got to go," she said quickly, turning away from his outstretched hand across the table. "Tell Ron I'll see you two later. Listen, if anybody asks, I didn't see the article, okay?"

"Yeah," said Harry after a short pause, slightly stunned. "Alright, sure, Hermione. Where are you going?" She did not answer him. Harry walked around his office desk before Hermione left. "At least owl later so we know how you're doing!"

Hermione nodded passively and marched straight out of the room, finding no better time than this to take her first sick day and stay at home, praying that what she had read in _The Prophet_ was nothing more than one, enormous lie.

**xxxxxx**

"I'm sick," Hermione cried in a fake, nasal sort of voice so that her nose would sound stuffed. After owling in her absence to work and leaving Harry in his office, she had taken refuge in her flat with the woeful sounds of Celestina Warbeck, though her comfort was short-lived as someone had knocked several times at her door. Though it had knocked three times now, still she refused to answer it. What person could not understand that she wanted to be alone? When it knocked again, Hermione resentfully pulled herself off of her sofa, dragging her pink thermal blanket with her along the way.

"What?" she said in annoyance, prepared to display a box of tissues and a bowl of soup to prove her sickness if someone from work came to call. As the door swung open however, Hermione forced herself to remain still, as Draco's face met her on the other end.

One arm was held up, leaning Draco in as it held the top of the door frame, the other limp at his side after knocking several times. He was looking down, though Hermione was staring right at him.

"Can I come in?"

After a short silence, Hermione finally answered. "I don't know," she said coldly, "but I'd ask your fiancée first if you're allowed to be visiting your ex-girlfriend's flat."

She let go of the door handle and drifted back to her sofa, leaving Draco at the door. Cautiously, he followed her in, closing the door gently behind him. He maintained a grip on the handle and leaned back as he faced her, shaking his head slowly from side to side.

"I wanted you to hear it from me first—"

"Clearly it's too late for that," Hermione cut in. "All of England knows that the Malfoy boy has proposed to short-time girlfriend and now fiancée, Astoria Greengrass." She held up the newspaper she had picked up on her way home with the news of the engagement, shaking it slightly and then dropping it onto her coffee table carelessly. "All of England knows – and now I know. So what are you doing here, Draco," Hermione said without any upward inflection, and a sense of tiredness in her voice.

"I don't know what you want me to say," Draco said quietly.

"You won't be able to tell me what I want to hear."

"I'm not here for that," he said heatedly.

"Then why are you here?" she shouted. Draco was silenced immediately. "Weeks go by," Hermione whispered furiously, "and I think every day about the mistake I made in your mansion by saying we weren't meant to be together – everyday I wish I hadn't been so heartless – but here we are and it seems I've finally found someone else more callous than I had been then."

"Hermione, it's not like you made the best move—"

"And I live with that all the time, you know I do!" she said furiously. "But don't you stand here acting as if it was all my fault – you didn't even consider waiting, you just gave me a silly ultimatum! And did you even try to stop me from leaving? No. You just let me go, and then you left too – left me, your job, your friends – but I suppose it's okay considering what you've brought back with you."

"Don't you blame any of this on Astoria!"

"Oh, Astoria," Hermione said in wonder. "Do tell me more about this heiress you've found for yourself! She must be particularly amazing to have saved you in your time of heartbreak, isn't that right, Draco?"

"Don't get carried away with yourself, Hermione, this isn't like you," Draco said calmly, letting go of the doorknob and striding quickly toward her.

"Proposed to her in a fancier way than you did for me? I suppose you gave her a shinier, more valuable ring as well? Go on, Draco, tell us the truth," she continued on harshly.

"Stop," Draco said sharply. "You're acting foolish. You're speaking out of jealousy and I would hate for this to be the way our friendship dissolves now too."

Hermione covered her mouth and turned away from him – he was there to salvage their friendship. It broke her heart even more than it already was. Draco seemed to have realized the impact of his words, and sighed loudly. He knelt slowly so that he was her height as she sat on the couch, and rubbed his neck.

"There was no time for me to propose to Astoria the way I did to you… we were just there, and the words came out of my mouth before I realized it. When she said yes, even I was surprised. But don't you place any blame on Astoria, like she's the issue. She's my fiancée now, Hermione, I won't let you speak about her like that."

When Hermione didn't answer, Draco found it safe to venture on, however cautiously. "About the ring… I had to propose to Astoria without one – I didn't have the engagement ring I had originally given to you, so I asked her to wait until I had it back."

Hermione turned her head slowly to face him, tears welling in her eyes. Draco could no longer look her in the face as he continued to speak. "I need the ring back, Hermione. You never returned it, and I need it back… to give to Astoria."

Hermione was still for a moment before lifting the blanket off of her and gripping the necklace she was so keen on wearing every day, underneath her regular clothes. She undid the clasp of it from behind her neck, and dropped it into Draco's patiently waiting hands.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "Listen, Hermione… this wouldn't have happened if I just knew what I was doing when I was with you – I was being selfish when I gave you that ultimatum. You still mean a lot to me, Hermione, but Astoria and I–"

Hermione stood up abruptly, walking towards the door and holding it open for him. Draco stopped mid-sentence, slightly caught off-guard.

"I can't hear this anymore. Please, just leave."

Draco, still kneeling at her couch, got up gingerly and walked right passed her on his way out. They faced each other at the door in solemn heartache.

"The wedding is in six months. If I don't see you there, I'll understand."

"Goodbye, Draco," Hermione said thickly.

"Yeah... bye."

As the door was closed on Draco's face, he Disapparated almost immediately, returning to the mansion where his new fiancée was eagerly awaiting his return.

**xxxxxx**

"Sweetheart, what do you think of this flower arrangement?" Astoria asked now five month-long fiancé, Draco Malfoy. She tapped a picture in a wedding magazine of lilies arranged in a heart-shaped fashion, but Draco did not seem to be paying any attention. He was looking out of the stained glass window in the living room of his mansion with boredom – the mansion that Astoria had moved into upon his return to London five months ago.

"What? Oh, they're lovely, Astoria. Just choose whatever you want," he said doggedly.

Astoria arched an eyebrow and set the magazine down, placing herself gently on his lap. Draco cradled her for only a moment before wanting to stand up and pace the room, but not wanting to hurt her feelings, he let her stay where she sat.

"What is it, Draco?"

"Nothing," answered Draco, pulling his attention away from the stained glass window. "How's the planning going, then?"

"As well as it can go," his fiancée answered warily, rubbing her temples and leaning into him more. "I feel as if there are already so many problems to be getting on with, I couldn't handle it if one more thing has me making re-arrangements."

"I wish I could be of more help to you," Draco said placatingly.

"Oh, it's fine… you're a busy man, after all. All of those hours you spend at work must be taking a toll on you, no?" she rubbed his shoulders and kissed him quickly, but Draco did not kiss her back. "Tell me what's wrong, love."

He sighed. "It's just… I mean, we're getting married in a month and I just feel – I feel—"

"Like you need more time to make some decisions?"

He stared at her in surprise. "Yeah, kind of."

"Me too," Astoria sighed. "Most weddings as grande as ours take at least a whole year to plan, but it appears all of Britain is so eager for this to happen I feel unceremoniously rushed, you know?"

Draco shook his head with every word she spoke, realizing that she did not know how he felt at all.

"But you're alright, aren't you, sweetheart?" Astoria continued.

Draco rubbed his neck, catching the twinkle of something at the corner of his eye. "What d'you think of the ring I gave you?" he asked suddenly, though not taking Astoria off-guard for a moment. "It belonged to my great grandmother."

"It's gorgeous, of course," she said almost immediately, holding up her ring finger so that she would appraise it. "I have to admit, I was kind of surprised you proposed without one at first, but when you said you had one at home that you needed to get back, I didn't mind. You had to get it back from your family vault, didn't you?"

"The ring?"

"Yes, the ring, silly. Where did you have to get it from?"

Draco was silent for a moment, looking away from his fiancée. Astoria sat up straighter in his lap, pressing her hands to his chest to get a better look at him.

"Sweetheart?"

Draco sighed. "I haven't been completely honest about where it came from."

Astoria's face, though still glowing, seemed to falter with confusion. "Well… well, that's alright… if it didn't belong to your great grandmother—"

"No, that's not it – it _is_ a family heirloom – but when I said I had to get it back, I didn't mean from my family vault."

"Then from where?"

He looked straight into her innocent eyes, knowing he was being unfair to one of the very few good witches of his class, cheating her of a husband who would adore her more than he did when he was just looking for a way to escape thoughts of Hermione. Astoria smiled at him, waiting patiently for his reply. He opened his mouth to speak.

"It was rusty at first and I had to get it cleaned and re-polished before I allowed myself to give it to you. After all, you only deserve the best, Astoria," Draco said finally, exhaling deeply while saying so.

Astoria beamed and hugged him around the shoulders tightly, for she just knew Draco cared about her as deeply as she did for him, how could he not? He was everything she had ever hoped for, and in a month, they would be married in a wonderful world of white and sophistication, the wedding day she had always dreamt of. She kissed him swiftly on the cheek and lifted herself from his lap.

"You're too good to me!" she cried cheerfully. "Now, let's not waste anymore time! Will you help me decide on the flower arrangements so we can move onto dessert tastings? I was thinking of chocolate mousse, perhaps some cheesecake as well, but let's be perfectly honest, cheesecake unless designed absolutely beautifully isn't meant for weddings…"

Draco listened and watched as his fiancée bustled on about the details of their wedding, smiling only on her behalf, because he did not want Astoria to see him frown – if he had spoken the truth, what would he have said? And if he'd said it, would they still be talking about flowers and dessert? He sighed inwardly, and began to chatter along with her, finding that he did want to please her – for Hermione had been right. Astoria had saved him from his heartache, and he owed it to her to do as she pleased, spending the rest of his life with her if that's what she wanted.

**xxxxxx**

"Hermione, I've brought reinforcements," Harry chimed, walking into Hermione's flat and holding the door open for Ron and Ginny, who like him, were clad in wedding day attire. Harry and Ron both were wearing black and white dress robes, while Ginny wore a simple vanilla dress that went down to her knees. They had all gotten the invitation stating that white was the theme for the day, and were ready to depart for the wedding itself before deciding together to make one final attempt at convincing Hermione to come along.

"It's D-Day," Ron said bracingly, striding over with Ginny to Hermione on her sofa. "Come on, we're not leaving unless you come with us."

"No," Hermione said strongly, pretending to be reading a memo from work. "I'm not going. And you could have knocked," she said scoldingly.

Harry grinned. "You know we never do." She threw him a scathing look and placed her eyes once more on the memo.

"Come on!" Ginny said consolingly, "You have to. The man sent you an invitation to the wedding and you R.S.V.P.'d weeks ago!"

"Because I was being brainless, but I know better now. You can't make me, I won't attend the damned wedding!"

"Hermione, it will help," Ron said softly. "You've been acting like a robot ever since the news came out that he was getting married, and it's time you've gotten out of it!"

"Excuse me?" she said, highly offended. "Acting like a robot have I? You don't even know what a robot is!"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Ron said proudly. "It's some futuristic Muggle invention or other, am I right?" he said, looking around the room for support. Harry rolled his eyes from the wall he was leaning against, and then focused on the ceiling. Ron pointed his thumb in Harry's direction and then nodded several times. "Told you so. Now stop trying to change the subject. Come to the bloody wedding! It will help you move on!"

"It will, will it?" she said with an edge. She stared heatedly at Ron, whose encouraging face slowly disappeared. He grimaced under her glare and got up from the coffee table where he sat.

"Ginny, apparently I'm no good at this; your turn."

Ginny sighed and took Ron's seat. "Just come with us to the wedding or I'll hex you." She pulled out her wand from her purse for good measure.

Hermione however, was unaffected by the action. "Why? So I can be the fifth wheel to you and Harry, Ron and Lavender? So I can watch the man profess his love to someone else? Why in the world would I want to do any of that?" she challenged.

"You're acting childish," Ginny reproved. Hermione whipped her head away from the three of them. She was slightly embarrassed that tears had even started to well in her eyes.

"Hermione," Harry sighed, still leaning against the wall, except his arms were crossed now. He stared unwaveringly at his friend, who reluctantly met his gaze. "We've told you again and again," Harry ventured, "you can't pretend this isn't happening. You have to accept that Malfoy's moved on, and you need to see it for yourself if you want to move on too. We're not saying it won't hurt, but that's why you're going with us. We'll be there to help you, alright? And we're sure it would mean a lot to Malfoy if he saw you there, and if you wished Astoria congratulations. Now get dressed, or else we'll Imperius you," he said strongly.

Hermione glowered at the three of her best friends from where she sat, watched Ron and Ginny nodding fervently at Harry's words, and finally set aside the memo after a few seconds of silence.

"Jeez," she said quietly. "You could have asked nicely."

Ron smacked his forehead at her words. "The woman acts as if we haven't been asking her nicely for the last week!"

Hermione ignored him and got up, marching towards her bedroom. "If ever there was a day to defend Draco Malfoy, you finally choose today to do it rather than the year he and I had been dating," she bellowed while walking. Harry and Ron exchanged amused glances. "I'll be out in ten minutes. And I suppose you're following me to make sure I don't Apparate from out of my dress, are you?" she demanded in response to Ginny's footsteps behind her.

"Of course," Ginny said brightly. "You two stand guard at the door in case she tries to hex me, won't you?"

Muttering furiously under her breath, Hermione followed Ginny into her bedroom, slamming the door as loud as she could behind her.

"Could have been worse," Ron shrugged.

"Could have set birds on us," Harry added.

"Like I said," Ron said darkly. "Could have been worse."

**xxxxxx**

"All set?" Blaise announced while entering Draco's room with a small bottle of smoking liquid. "They're ready for you downstairs."

"Which floor again?" Draco said nervously. "This hotel has what, five hundred floors? It's a miracle our guests could even find the ballroom."

"It's the best hotel around, Draco, I'm sure your guests are willing to set aside its vastness in order to be wonderfully catered at your reception later." Blaise grinned at Draco, who was looking at himself in the full-length mirror and continuously adjusting the jacket of his tuxedo. "You're allowed one shot before heading out." He held out the small bottle full of firewhisky in his hand for Draco.

"Thanks," he breathed, but he found he could not unstopper it. "The damned thing won't open," Draco said, pushing it back in Blaise's hands.

"Calm down," he responded, uncorking it himself on his first attempt. "Could you be any more nervous? You look like you just survived a Chimera attack."

"It's not funny," Draco said, downing the bottle in one gulp. He pulled a face as he exhaled the smoke. "Is – is Astoria down there? Are they all waiting for me?"

"Yeah, didn't I just say so?"

"Look , I – I need a few more minutes—"

"What?" Blaise said in surprise. "A few minutes to what? You're dressed, you've had a drink, you're ready to go!"

"No – no, I'm not, I can't."

"You can't what?" he said irritably.

"Just give me a few more minutes!"

"_How_?" Blaise exclaimed.

"Extend the time before the wedding starts, do anything!"

"But the invitation says the wedding should start in five minutes, what am I supposed to—"

"Tell them anything! Tell them I lost my shoes—"

"Draco, don't be pathetic!" Blaise said angrily. "D'you think if I tell the congregation you've lost your shoes that this will be postponed?" Draco looked down in embarrassment, as Blaise looked sternly upon him. "Listen, you're my best mate, but if you didn't want to do this you should have ended things before it got this far. I can't do your dirty work for you, Draco, even if you held me hostage I wouldn't do this for you."

"Blaise," Draco said desperately, "I'm asking you to—"

Someone knocked on the door, interrupting their heated discussion. Both men turned around in slight aggravation, with Blaise scratching his head in irritation. "What now?" he muttered. "I bet it's Astoria, wondering where you are. You're not allowed to see her till she walks down the aisle!" He crossed over to the door and opened it slightly. His silence told Draco it was not Astoria.

"Blaise? Who is it?"

Blaise looked down and opened the door entirely, revealing Hermione in a cream-coloured dress and holding a small bouquet of flowers. Draco's mouth opened slightly, but he found that he couldn't find anything to say. Blaise glanced between the two of them, wondering who would start speaking first, and what Hermione was doing there. Neither of them had even lifted a finger.

"I'll be downstairs," he said swiftly, as Draco and Hermione continued to stare silently at one another. "If you're not down in five minutes…" he shook his head, not knowing what would even happen, and then left them, shutting the door behind him.

"You look—" the both of them began, as soon as Blaise's footsteps had disappeared. They looked away from each other quickly.

"I didn't have enough time to find a decent enough gift, so I just bought these along the way," Hermione said to fill the silence, placing the flowers down on a table. "I… I saw Astoria on my way up here. She's beautiful."

"I know she is," Draco said guardedly. "Did you—"

"Say anything to her? Nothing except my congratulations."

"Oh," Draco answered, not knowing what to feel. "Thank you for the flowers, then."

"I hope you'll understand if I don't attend the reception – I'm not feeling very well to begin with. I just had to see you before… before…"

"I know," Draco said again. "I understand."

Hermione approached him slowly, and Draco found himself taking steps towards her as well. He placed his hands on her shoulders, playing with the curls of her soft hair.

"I always thought you looked handsome in a tuxedo," Hermione said soothingly.

Draco sighed. "I was hoping you would come and…"

"And what?" she whispered.

Draco swallowed with difficulty. "I…"

Hermione waited for him to speak, but no words escaped from his mouth. She shook her head when this continued on, almost disappointedly, and took a step away from him so they were no longer that near one another. "You should get going – everyone is waiting for you downstairs. Congratulations," Hermione said quickly, and walking away from him.

When she left the room, Draco waited a few moments before following her down. He made a vase appear out of thin air, and placed the bouquet of roses Hermione had brought for him and Astoria gently inside it. He curled a petal around his finger solemnly, before exiting the room, and walking downstairs towards his fate.

**xxxxxx**

A wedding march echoed across the grande ballroom, and a room full of five hundred guests all stood to welcome the bride, Astoria Greengrass and soon to be Astoria Malfoy. Draco stood at the head of the room, bounding lightly on the balls of his feet to get a glimpse at her, though it was really just an excuse to hide his nervousness.

So far was Astoria down the aisle and so slow was the wedding march that Draco estimated he still had a full minute before he was joined at the altar. He glanced around instead, wondering, of all things, where Hermione had taken her seat. He shook his head as soon as the thought entered his mind. This was his wedding day – he should be thinking only of Astoria. And yet, every now and then when he would spot a girl in a cream coloured dress, he could not stop his mind from wandering in another girl's direction…

When finally Astoria made it to meet Draco and the minister who would wed them, Draco could not find his breath. Astoria smiled at him, thinking his nerves were normal, even cute, as they stood there together at the front of the room. She smiled widely at him, but Draco feared that if he grinned too widely back, he would vomit out of indecision.

"We are gathered here today to witness one of the happiest joys life has to offer for two people in love," began the minister. "On this day, Draco Abraxas Malfoy and Astoria Callista Greengrass shall be joined in matrimony. This contract should not be taken lightly, but thoughtfully and deeply. We must never forget the promise they are making today to be faithful, honest, and caring to another, and so we celebrate Draco and Astoria for their bravery. And now, we are to proceed with the vows – Draco, if you will."

The pair of them turned to face each other, and Draco took Astoria by the hand. He looked his fiancée fully for the first time, for he hadn't even noticed her beauty as she walked down the aisle until she was finally before him. Inwardly, he loathed himself for what he knew he must do.

"You look beautiful," he said. Astoria missed the hint of regret in the statement entirely however, and only looked more lovingly upon him. Nervously, Draco began to speak.

"Astoria… when I met you, I was in a horrible state, trying to recover from something I thought I would never heal from. But because of you, I found going on with life was less hard, even easy, as long as I had you. It didn't take me very long for me to realize that I had someone special loving me back. Astoria, just remember that you mean everything to me and that you deserve the best. But the thing is…" Astoria's eyes flashed in worry as soon as the interjection escaped his lips; her smile faltered. "I mean – I know you may think so, but I'm not the best. You deserve ten times better than what I can give you."

"What are you talking about?" she whispered uncomfortably, her eyes wide as the congregation's shocked breaths echoed in the ballroom.

"The truth is," Draco continued quietly, so that only she could hear, "You're too good for me, and Merlin knows I don't deserve you. I wish I wasn't stupid enough to let this go on for so long, but at least I'm saving you from making one of the biggest mistakes of your life. We're not meant to be together."

Astoria looked about herself, as if someone would jump out claiming she had been fooled, and Draco was only joking. Her eyes searched Draco imploringly, but she found nothing but the truth staring back at her – slowly, her kind, worried eyes shifted to that of coldness and disappointment, which Draco could feel the full force of. Swiftly, she retracted her hands from Draco's grip.

"You used me," she whispered mortifyingly. "You lied."

"I didn't," Draco said beseechingly, attempting to take her hands back in his. Astoria backed away from him.

"You don't love me," she said, her voice shaking. The anger in it was quickly overtaking the sadness, which Draco couldn't bear to hear.

"Astoria, I do, please!" Her eyes welled in tears, but Draco pressed on. "I just couldn't do this to you. I hope one day you can forgive me. You'll always be in my heart, and I will always love you – but I can't do this." His final words were heard by the entire congregation, causing the loudest uproar yet of gasp and surprise.

Mortified and absolutely humiliated, Astoria's right hand flew across his face, her stiff palm making satisfying contact that only caused greater uproar amongst the congregation.

Draco touched his reddened cheek. "I guess I deserve that," he said quietly. "Please find it in your heart to forgive me one day." And with that, Draco turned around and jogged down the steps of the altar, striding swiftly passed all of the shocked guests and ignoring all of the people who were shouting for him to come back. He burst out of the ballroom's doors and Disapparated almost immediately, knowing he could not face the family and friends he had just disappointed, and the fiancée whose heart he had just broken.

As soon as he was gone, Astoria had rushed into the arms of her bridesmaid, guests had started to erupt in whispers, and Hermione Granger stood up from the back row, wondering what in the world had just happened.

**xxxxxx**

"I know, I can't believe it either, Ginny," Hermione said again for the millionth time, to the face of Ginny in her emerald green fire. "But can we talk about something else? It's been a week and no one's heard from him, he's clearly not going to come back any time soon to explain himself."

"How do you know he's gone on another lengthy vacation?"

"He's just broken another woman's heart, Astoria's still humiliated and so is he, I'm sure – he wouldn't want to show his face for a while."

"I guess you're right," Ginny agreed solemnly. "I just thought maybe he might have contacted you."

"Me?" Hermione said in surprise. "Of all people, you think I'm expecting an explanation from him? I don't care about that, you know I don't. I just want to know he's okay, that's all."

"But he left her! Don't you think it's because he's still in love with you?"

"We've been over this," Hermione said, not trying to hide her exasperation this time. "Probably not."

"You don't know that!"

"Well, I guess we never will, will we?"

"And why not?" Ginny complained.

"Because he's not back, Ginny!" Hermione exploded despite herself. She realized that she had caught Ginny off-guard and immediately felt bad, and so regained her composure. "He's gone… _again_. It's what he's good at, Ginny. He leaves right when someone might need him most. We'll never know who he loves until he comes back, so until then, we're in the dark."

Ginny looked sadly at her friend. "I wish it were different."

Hermione nodded. "Me too." She shut off the connection and stood up from her fireplace, turning around to what she thought would be her empty flat. It had been a very long week. For days, people had been bombarding her with questions about Draco abandoning Astoria at the aisle, but Hermione had no idea what to say to anyone. She could only shrug off the demands and focus solely on work, thinking that it would at least take her mind away from the man who once again, ran away.

Turning to her cluttered work space in the living room, Hermione resolved herself to finally start tidying up. And then, she heard a voice from the side of the room.

"You still put your spare key underneath the welcome mat."

Hermione, who was in mid-walk towards her living room, doubled over in shock and nearly fell over at the sound of Draco's voice. She clutched frantically at her heart, forgetting momentarily that she hadn't spoken to Draco for almost a week since she had last seen him.

"What are you – how are you –" she began confusedly.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," Draco said calmly. Hermione watched mechanically as he returned her spare keys underneath the welcome mat and then shut the door. She shook her head as if to wake herself from a dream.

"Draco, what are you doing here? So many people are looking for you and wanting to speak with you," she said, as if she had run a mile.

"Are you not one of them?" he said leisurely, strolling over to her living room as if it were perfectly normal for him to be there.

"Of course I am," she said quickly. "But – but – after all that's happened I just thought…"

"Thought what?"

"I just thought you should see Astoria…"

"Well, Granger," Draco said matter-of-factly, "I don't know if you noticed or anything… but I kind of left her at the altar last week. I don't think she wants to talk to me."

Hermione clicked her tongue and crossed her arms. "Your sarcasm isn't appreciated here."

"Okay, I'm sorry." Draco lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I just thought I'd lighten the mood."

"I'm afraid you can't, Draco. And I really don't think you should be here right now. You should see Astoria." Hermione made to walk towards her door and hold it open for Draco, but he blocked her path.

"Hermione, I've already gone to see Astoria – in fact, she was my first stop once I came back to Britain. She had a fit. I don't blame her; I just wish she'd thrown pillows at me, or something equally soft. Not glass vases or busts of my great-grandfather or anything…"

"I'm sorry," Hermione said truthfully. "She did seem quite wonderful."

"She really is. I just won't be seeing that side of her for a long time."

Hermione nodded and remained where she stood, and Draco did the same. After a few moments of awkward silence, Hermione began to rummage around, doing the cleaning she had intended to do before Draco surprised her with his presence.

"Hermione, what are you—?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm cleaning."

"Yes, but I was hoping we could talk…"

"What is there to talk about?" she asked him, though not once shifting her attention towards him.

"Everything," he said, slowly becoming irritated by her behavior. "You must know why I'm here."

"I don't, actually."

Draco watched frustratingly as Hermione continued to file her papers and set aside old coffee mugs, doing everything possible to not face him.

"I love you," he said, regularly toned. She did not respond. Hermione only punched a pillow on her sofa that she had been fluffing rather aggressively.

"Hermione, I love you," Draco said, this time in a louder pitch. Still, Hermione chose not to respond.

"Didn't you hear me?" Draco said, almost at a yelling tone. "I said I love you!"

"Yes, I heard you perfectly clear," Hermione said tartly, stacking everything in a neat pile now. "And so what? You're no longer with Astoria, the wedding is off. Did you think I would be waiting for you after all this time?"

"No," Draco said confusedly, "that's not it, I just thought—"

"You just thought it would be this easy? Well Draco Malfoy, it's not, and the more that I think about it, I find that I'm quite furious with you."

"Are you?" said Draco, over the loud noise of bustling that Hermione had continued to create. She was now fluffing the every cushion in her living room, which Draco found to be very distracting as he tried to speak with her. "After what you put me through, practically thrusting me in Astoria's arms, and me ending the engagement, you can't seem to find it in you to forgive me and be with me again?"

"It won't work out," Hermione said in a bold, but trembling sort of voice. "Just like last time, Draco – it just won't work!"

"No, I know what you're doing," Draco said, hopping over chairs as he made his way towards Hermione. "It's exactly what you were doing last time, except now I won't make the mistake of not fighting for you – I love you, alright? For as long as we've been fighting, I have always loved you. And I won't leave this time, alright? I won't – I want to be with you forever."

Finally, Hermione desisted with her chores and faced him aggressively, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "Do you?" she said. Her tone seemed to challenge him, and Draco was taken aback.

"I should never have let you go."

Hermione seemed hardly affected by his words, which Draco did not expect.

"I love you," he said, much stronger this time.

She shook her head. This wasn't the way Draco had imagined things would happen at all. "Are you sure?" she asked him.

"Of course I'm sure – I left an amazing woman at the altar! I went through so much to bring myself to this point with you—"

"Well then explain to me why you left so easily, Draco!" Hermione finally erupted. "Because when I didn't accept your proposal months ago, you just couldn't seem to understand that I still wasn't saying no – I was telling you that we would get married, one day, in time. But that wasn't good enough for you, and you walked out," she said, turning around to face him once more.

"I know I did, I'm sorry—"

"And I was wishing, as soon as I'd left, that you would fight for me and run after me, and still you didn't."

"But I'm fighting for you now," he whispered to her furiously. "I am!"

"And then you go and find Astoria, this wonderful woman, and break her heart too," she continued, as if Draco hadn't said anything. "What timing! You left her at the altar for Merlin's sake! And once again, you just leave. D'you really think that skipping town after every personal heartbreak will make things better? Because it doesn't! It hurts like hell when you're gone Draco, and now Astoria will have to know that too."

"I'm an idiot, I know, I'm sorry—!"

"How do I know for sure that this time around, you won't walk out after we have another argument? How can I be sure you won't disappear for weeks at a time when something happens like this?"

Draco rushed towards her and held her by the hands. "You don't know – but I do. I promise, Hermione, I'll never leave you again. You just have to trust me! You have no idea how sorry I am about Astoria, and especially you. I'm asking you to trust me and believe me when I say I'll never leave you again. Don't you trust me?"

He pulled out the ring that had once belonged to Hermione and then to Astoria from out of his pocket. He placed it gently in the centre of her palm and closed her fingers over, so that she held it tightly in her hands, so much like last time. Draco looked up at her, pleading with his eyes.

"Where – where did you get this?" Hermione asked, finally unable to continue her tirade, for the intensity in Draco's gaze seemed to fully disable her ability to speak properly for more than one sentence. "I thought Astoria would still have it."

"It was one of the things she threw back at me when I came to see her," Draco said regretfully. "I wish she didn't, but I wouldn't have it now to give it back to its rightful owner now, would I? The woman I do love – the woman I'll always love."

Hermione stared at the ring in her hands, finally calm. It was as if the ring had seeped all the anger in her body, leaving only wonder and indecision behind.

"Draco, could you be anymore the marrying type? This is your third proposal."

"Don't think of it as a proposal then," he said, finding it safe to laugh off her comment. "Think of it as a promise – that one day we will get married, and that I'll never leave you."

Hermione's mouth twisted, wondering if it was okay to smile, okay to take him back, even okay to admit to herself that after all this time, she was still deeply in love with the man.

"Come on, Hermione," Draco urged. "I've just professed my undying love; this _has_ to be good enough for you. Just say yes."

Hermione considered him for a moment, examining the figure she had been so used to cradling into, the eyes she had been so used to staring at; she suddenly found herself insane, to not have said yes right away the first time around. He was all she had ever hoped for, and she knew it was just her luck that things had gone their way.

She nodded, allowing herself to break out into an uncontrollable grin. Draco eyes burned with happiness as soon as she had done so. He lifted her off of her feet, kissing her as if he had done it for the first time. She laughed once he set her down, covering her mouth with her hand, realizing only until now how much she missed him, how much she truly did love him, and how much his absence had cost her.

"And I don't have to think of it like that, Draco. You won't have to wait for me anymore," Hermione breathed into his ear, as they embraced each other tightly. "I should have said it the first time around. I'll marry you. I love you."

Draco pulled away from her, astounded by her words. "You will?"

Hermione shrugged with her arms still around him. "Sure, why not?" Draco laughed jubilantly, kissing her once more. "But so help you God, Malfoy, if we ever fight that bad again—"

Draco stopped her mid-sentence with another kiss. "Can we go one day without threatening each other? Besides, Hermione, we will never fight like that again. I love you too much to put us through that one more time."

Hermione held him close and rested her head on his chest, knowing that she had everything she needed right where she stood. Harry and Ron would pretend to be less than thrilled, and Ginny would be throwing "I-told-you-so's" in her direction, but Hermione hardly cared. She had him back, and that was all that mattered. She smiled and closed her eyes. "Now _that's_ what I wanted to hear."

**x**

The End.

Authors Note's: Booyah! Can you believe this baby used to only be 12 pages, and now after I've edited and re-edited everything, it's now 20? Boy, did I find some stuff to add, hahaha.

Before I continue, can I just say I hopped onto this bandwagon called tumblr? Yes, I have a tumblr, fellow readers! It only took me long enough to finally get one! Hahaha. If you have one, by all means, feel super free to follow me! My tumblr is: h t t p : / / s e v e n g e e . t u m b l r . c o m – creative, no?

Well anyway, there you have it. I hope very much that you enjoyed it and you find this oneshot worth reviewing! I would love it so much if you did, and to show you my gratitude, I assure you that upon reviewing, cookies will fall from the sky and onto your lap – the fresh-out-of-the-oven kind! Don't believe me? Just try it!

Your feedback is, as ever, very important to me!

Thanks again for tuning in, you lovely person, you!

Yours truly,

Sevengee/Lina


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